Odd's Love
by ducky76
Summary: Sequel to Odd's Secret. Odd's got another secret, but even he doesn't know it. And everyone else has issues of their own. After all, love can do one of 3 things: grow, fade, or die. And sometimes, it reveals itself somewhere completely unexpected.
1. Ulrich and Yumi Part 1

**I missed writing "Odd's Secret" so much that I decided to write a sequel! However, there will be many changes in this story from the last. I mean, all of that stuff did happen when the younger Lyoko warriors were in eighth grade, and middle school relationships don't last forever. But some couples might just last. Anyway, this story isn't really going to follow what happened in season three or the end of season two. The gang still believes that Aelita has been infected with a virus and Xana has not escaped into the internet. The first few chapters of this will be catching you up to what happens in the next few years between the previous story and and their senior year, which is when the actual story will take place. Each part of these first few chapters will focus on a different couple from the last story. I originally intended for each couple to have one chapter, but Yumi and Ulrich's turned out to be so long that I had to split it in two. So here's part one of their story.**

* * *

A few days before the year anniversary of Odd's surgery, Yumi and Ulrich had their year anniversary of the day they'd made their relationship official, and with the help of his friends, Ulrich planned a romantic outing. Aelita and Sissi cooked dinner for the couple and put it in a basket for a candlelight dinner at the Factory, because Ulrich wanted their dinner to be at the place that had first brought them together. Ulrich had flowers sent to Yumi's house and he took her out for the afternoon to see a movie. After it ended, he led her to the Factory, saying that Jeremie had just called about a new development in Lyoko, and they found the picnic that Jeremie and Odd had set up while they'd been gone.

Yumi's eyes widened as she saw the dinner, and she smiled at Ulrich excitedly. "Ulrich, did you plan this?" she asked.

Ulrich smirked as he led her to sit on the blanket. "I guess you like it?"

"I didn't realize that you knew how to be so romantic," Yumi teased.

Ulrich narrowed his eyes playfully. "Gee thanks for that vote of confidence," he joked while he opened the picnic basket and pulled out their dinner. "The others did help me out though."

"Well, we'll have to thank them later," Yumi said as she leaned in and kissed Ulrich. She pulled away and rubbed her nose against his in an Eskimo kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too," Ulrich replied softly. "Yumi… this has been the most amazing year of my life... And I just really want to show you just how great you've been to me." He pulled a small box out of his pocket and handed it to her. "I know that we said no presents, but I wanted you to have this."

Yumi opened to box to see a white gold ring with the words _I'll love you forever_ engraved into it.

"It's a promise ring," Ulrich said as he took it from the box and put it onto her finger.

"Ulrich it's beautiful," she said as she looked back up at him in awe. "I can't believe that you did all of this for me."

Ulrich smiled. "You deserve the world Yumi," he told her. "And I promise that one day I'm going to give it to you… or at least as much of it as I can."

Yumi kissed him passionately before turning her attention back to the food. She put it back into the basket and set it away from the blanket. Ulrich looked at her curiously. "What are you doing?" he asked.

She smiled at him. "There's something I want to give you Ulrich," she said.

Ulrich watched her in confusion for a moment before catching on to her meaning. "Do you mean…?" he asked, gulping nervously. "Yumi, are you sure?"

Yumi nodded as she scooted closer to him and began to slip his top shirt off of him.

Ulrich grabbed her hands to stop her and looked at her seriously. "Here?" he questioned. "Right now?"

"Yes, I'm completely serious, Ulrich," Yumi insisted. She blushed with embarrassment and pulled back a little bit. "Don't you want me?"

"Of course I do," Ulrich said. "But not if you aren't ready. I don't want you to do this if you don't want to."

Yumi smiled. "I am ready. And I want to. You're the one for me Ulrich. Why should we waste another second?"

Ulrich looked at her indecisively for a moment before nodding. "Ok."

* * *

"So tell me again how long it took?" Odd asked with amusement. "2 minutes, right?"

"Mmmf mmm efmmm…" Ulrich mumbled from his bed, where he was holding his pillow over his head.

"You're not trying to suffocate yourself, are you?" Odd joked. "I mean… I totally understand why you would."

"SHUT UP!" Ulrich shouted as he through the pillow at Odd's head.

"Come on Ulrich," Odd said. "It's not _that_ bad."

Ulrich sat up and gave Odd a look that clearly read, 'Are you kidding me?' "Not that bad?" he asked. "Not that bad?! It's bad Odd. It's really fucking bad! Don't you realize what this means?"

Odd faked a thoughtful look. "That Yumi may never know what an orgasm feels like?" he laughed.

"It means that Yumi and me are over!" Ulrich said. "She probably won't want to be with me anymore."

Odd sighed and decided to be serious. "You know Yumi's not that shallow Ulrich," he said. "She's not going to care about how bad the sex was. Besides, everyone's first time is bad."

"Not as bad as ours!" Ulrich exclaimed as he flopped back down and covered his face with his other pillow. "Mmmf mmm efmmm mhmmfmm!"

"Come again?" Odd asked.

Ulrich pulled the pillow off of his face and stared up at the ceiling. "My life is over," he muttered melodramatically.

Odd shook his head and sat down beside his roommate. "Ulrich just calm down. Things will work out just fine."

Ulrich sighed. "You and Sissi haven't had sex yet, right?" he asked curiously.

Odd crossed his arms and frowned. "Are you kidding me?" he huffed. "The school won't let me play sports until the doctors say my heart's ok. Jeremie won't let me go to Lyoko until the doctors say my heart's ok. And Sissi… well she won't have sex with me until the doctors say my heart's ok."

"It's for your own good," Ulrich told him.

------Meanwhile---------

"Yumi, did you at least use condoms?" Aelita asked worriedly.

Yumi shook her head. "But I've been on birth control for months. I've been waiting a while for him to be ready."

"Well, at least that's good," Aelita said. "So he didn't talk to you at all while he walked you back home?"

Yumi sighed. "Nope," she said.

"And then he kissed you on the nose and left?" Aelita continued.

"Yup," Yumi said as she leaned against the wall in Aelita's room.

"It could have been worse," Aelita told her reassuringly.

"Do you think that maybe I was too eager?" Yumi asked. "Do you think he found it unattractive?"

"Trust me Yumi," Aelita said. "No guy would find it unattractive."

"Then what was the problem?" Yumi wondered.

Aelita sat down on her bed. "I know this is sort of a personal question," she said. "But… how was it?"

Yumi bit her lip. "Um… I don't know… I mean, I've never done it before, so there's really nothing to compare it to. It was just sex. It wasn't very long though."

"Well, maybe Ulrich thought he was bad at it," Aelita guessed. "Maybe he's embarrassed."

"It was the first time for both of us," Yumi said. "He shouldn't be embarrassed."

"We've all known each other for about four years now Yumi," Aelita said. "And in those four years I've learned that Ulrich gets embarrassed much more easily than other people. He's definitely got some self-esteem issues, and he doesn't do well with damaged pride."

"You might be right Aelita," Yumi agreed. She smiled slightly at how insecure Ulrich was. Sometimes it bugged the hell out of her, but other times she found it cute. At the very least, it let her know that he really cared about her opinion. "I'm going to go talk to him about it."

"Good luck," Aelita said.

Yumi headed upstairs to Ulrich's room and was about to enter, when she heard voices.

"My life is over," she heard Ulrich's voice mutter, causing her to smirk and shake her head as she realized that he really was embarrassed.

This was followed by Odd's voice. "Ulrich just calm down. Things will work out just fine."

"You and Sissi haven't had sex yet, right?" Ulrich asked.

There was a pause before Odd responded. "Are you kidding me? The school won't let me play sports until the doctors say my heart's ok. Jeremie won't let me go to Lyoko until the doctors say my heart's ok. And Sissi… well she won't have sex with me until the doctors say my heart's ok."

"It's for your own good," Ulrich told him.

Yumi quietly opened the door and stayed in the doorway.

"Well, I can't wait until everyone stops worrying about what's for my own good," Odd said to Ulrich.

"We're always going to worry about that," Yumi said. The boys looked over to see her standing in the doorway. "We can't help looking out for you. You're our little guy Odd. The group's got to look out for the little guy."

Odd stood up and walked over to her. "I'll have you know that I'm the tallest of you all!" he said indignantly. It was true. In the past year, he and Ulrich had both grown taller than her, and Odd was actually an inch taller than Ulrich. Even his once high-pitched voice had matured. "Jeremie's the little guy now!"

Yumi smiled at him patronizingly. "You'll always be our little guy, Odd," she teased. "As long as you keep acting like the little guy, that is."

"Are you calling me immature Ishiyama?"

Ulrich cleared his throat from where he was laying on his bed. Odd looked over at him. "Oh, right," he said. He turned back to Yumi. "We'll have to continue this conversation later. Bye Yumi."

"Bye," Yumi said as he left. She continued to stand in the doorway, watching Ulrich with a small smile on her face for a couple of minutes.

"Hi Yumi," Ulrich said nervously.

"Hey," Yumi said, finally shutting the door. She walked over to him and lay down next to him with her head on his shoulder as she looked up at the ceiling with that same smile on her face.

Ulrich watched her curiously, waiting for her to have something to say about the night before. He gave up after a few minutes and looked up at the ceiling as well.

Yumi turned her head toward him. "So do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

Ulrich blushed a bit. "Um… about what?" he asked dumbly.

"Last night," Yumi replied.

Ulrich sighed, wrapping an arm around her waist as he rolled onto his side to face her. "What about it?" he asked nervously.

"Why did you act so weird after is happened?" Yumi asked.

Ulrich gulped. "I… I don't know…"

"Were you nervous?" she asked.

"Well, yea," Ulrich said quietly.

Yumi smiled. "You didn't need to be," she said. "Last night was great."

Ulrich looked confused. "It was?" he asked. "But I was horrible."

Yumi nodded. "The first time isn't supposed to be perfect Ulrich," she told him. "We'll both get better at it. You know what they say. 'Practice makes perfect.'"

"So you aren't going to break up with me or something?" Ulrich asked, cheering up a bit.

Yumi laughed. "Of course not," she said. She kissed his cheek. "I love you."

Ulrich smiled. "I love you too." He kissed her gently and leaned his head against hers, staring up at the ceiling.

They both lay there contently for a while before Yumi spoke up again. "Ulrich?"

"Hm?" he responded.

"How do you feel about a little bit of practicing?" she asked slyly.

Ulrich rolled over so that he was holding himself above her. "I thought you'd never ask," he said before kissing her neck.

* * *

Over the next eight months, Odd found himself being kicked out of his room quite frequently so that Ulrich and Yumi could 'talk' in private. He knew, however, what was really going on in there, and he constantly complained about it to Sissi as he took refuge in her room. By late October, he was becoming absolutely fed up with it. "They had better not get pregnant," he said one Saturday as he flopped down on Sissi's bed. "As often as they are at it, I'm going to be Uncle Odd before I'm ready to be an uncle."

Sissi shook her head. She sat down and let him rest his head on her lap as she played with his hair. "It's not a big deal Odd," she assured him.

"But just think about what Kiwi is being exposed to in there!" Odd joked as he watched himself wiggle his toes for amusement. "That poor dog probably wishes he was blind."

"He'll get over it, I'm sure," Sissi said. "It's not like Yumi and Ulrich are the only people having sex… or the only people who want to."

Odd looked up at her. "What?"

Sissi sighed. "I've had to hear you talk about it a lot lately," she said. "And that's been making me think a lot more about it. And I think we're ready."

Odd just stared at her blankly for a moment before sitting. "Sissi," he said. "I know I made a big deal about it before, but you don't need to feel like you have to."

"I want to though," Sissi replied.

Odd sighed. "Well, I don't," he said. "Not just yet. It's not the right time."

"We've been together for a year and almost eight months," Sissi said. "And we love each other. Why isn't it the right time?"

"It's just not," Odd said.

Sissi got up and sat at her computer desk. She started to play around with her programs before sighing and reluctantly saying, "Ok."

"Are you mad at me?" Odd asked.

Sissi shook her head, but she said nothing else as she continued to play around with her computer, paying no attention to him.

* * *

"I thought you wanted to have sex with her?" Ulrich asked Odd in confusion as he kicked a soccer ball to him. "You were angry that she wouldn't."

Odd shrugged. He stopped the ball and kicked it back. "I changed my mind," he said. "I'm just not ready yet. Besides, you have enough sex for the both of us."

Ulrich put his foot on top of the ball to stop it and rolled his eyes. "She's mad at you now?"

"I think so," Odd said. "What should I do about it?"

"How should I know?" Ulrich asked.

"You're the sex expert," Odd complained. "Give me some advice."

"Have sex with her," Ulrich suggested as a joke before kicking the ball to Odd again. "Really, really good sex."

Odd let the ball roll past him. "Ha ha," he said sarcastically. "Thanks for the help buddy."

"Anytime," Ulrich said. "Go grab the ball. It's starting too get dark out and we should go inside."

Odd did as he was told and they began to walk back to the school. "Speaking of really good sex… How did today go?"

"We actually didn't do anything," Ulrich confessed.

"I got kicked out today and you didn't even have sex?" Odd asked in exasperation.

"She wasn't really feeling so great," Ulrich told him.

"She still sick?" Odd asked.

"Yea," Ulrich said. "At least she wasn't throwing up today though."

"Well, don't get sick from her," Odd said. "I am not cleaning up your puke if you do."

"Gee thanks," Ulrich said. "You're a real pal. If I remember correctly, who was it who took care of you when you were sick?"

"Hey, no fair," Odd said. "I don't think you were ever on puke duty, Ulrich, so it's completely different."

"Whatever you say Odd," Ulrich replied.

"I'm so hungry," Odd said as he put a hand to his stomach. "I could go for a big steak right now. Actually, I think I could eat the whole cow."

Ulrich shook his head. "You know, I really thought that after your growth spurt your appetite would have calmed down, but it's only worse."

Odd grinned sheepishly. "I can't help it. I just love my food."

"Well, it's a little late for food now," Ulrich said as they got to their bedroom. "Cafeteria is closed."

Odd opened the door. "I'll just have to save up my appetite for the morning then."

"There won't be any breakfast for anyone else," Ulrich joked as the two entered the room. "Did we leave the light on?"

"No," Odd said as he looked over at Ulrich's bed.

Ulrich looked over to see Aelita and Yumi sitting on the bed, the latter in tears. "Yumi what's wrong?" he asked as he sat down beside her.

Yumi just looked at the floor and didn't answer. Aelita looked up at Odd. "Odd, we need to give them some time alone," she said as she stood up.

Odd nodded and followed her out of the room. Once the door was shut, Ulrich made Yumi look at him. "What's wrong?" he asked again. "Are you ok? Have your parents started fighting again?"

Yumi shook her head. "Ulrich, I…" She looked down. "This sick feeling has been starting to worry me. And I talked to Aelita about it…"

"Are you ok, Yumi?" Ulrich asked worriedly.

Yumi looked back up at him. "She suggested that I should take a test, you know? And we went to my house and took care of it. I took four and they all said the same thing… Ulrich I'm pregnant." She whispered that last part.

Ulrich just stared at her in shock. "You… you're…? Oh my god, Yumi… This is… for real?"

Yumi nodded. "What are we going to do Ulrich?" she asked.

"I… I don't know," Ulrich answered truthfully. He grabbed her hand, though, trying to comfort her. "We'll get through this together Yumi. I promise."

"I'm scared Ulrich," Yumi said. "We're way too young for this. My parents won't understand. They'll want me to get rid of it."

"Do you want to?" Ulrich asked nervously.

Yumi shook her head in confusion. "I don't know what I want to do," she said. "I haven't had time to really even think about the options."

"You wouldn't have an abortion, would you?" Ulrich asked.

"No," she said. "I don't think I could do that. Do you agree with abortion?"

"Not exactly," Ulrich told her. "But I want you to do whatever is best for you, Yumi."

"How am I going to tell my family?" she asked him. "How do I tell them that they might be grandparents?"

"With me right by your side Yumi," Ulrich said reassuringly. "Don't worry. No matter what, I'll be there for you… and the baby."

"Do you… think we should keep it?" Yumi asked.

"I honestly don't know, Yumi," Ulrich said unsurely. "It's a really big decision to make right away. I think we need to take some time to consider everything."

"I just... I can't believe that this happened," Yumi said.

Ulrich put his arm around Yumi's waist and pulled her closer to him. "It's going to be ok," he told her. "As long as we're going through it together, things will be fine."

* * *

**Please review! Next chapter will be part 2 of their story. Then I will move on to Odd and Sissi.**


	2. Ulrich and Yumi Part 2

**The first four chapters of this story really aren't going to be in as much detail as I usually try to write in. The Ulrich and Yumi portion alone could be written as a full story, but these mini-stories in the first four chapters are really just meant to set the story that will begin with the fifth chapter (unless of course I have to split either of the other stories into two like this one). Read and review!**

* * *

Yumi and Ulrich waited for another month to tell Yumi's parents. It proved a very difficult task, involving a lot of yelling from Mr. Ishiyama and a lot of crying from Mrs. Ishiyama. Mr. Ishiyama's first instinct was to threaten Ulrich for coming near his daughter, until of course Yumi explained how she was the one who wanted to have sex in the first place. Both of her parents were dead set against her having an abortion, but they didn't want her to become a teenage mother. However, Yumi told them that she and Ulrich hadn't decided to give it away yet and that it would be her own decision when she finally made it.

Ulrich's parents were even more difficult. He waited until Christmas vacation, when Yumi was already 3 months pregnant to tell them, and he didn't do it with Yumi by his side. His mother tried to be supportive, but even she couldn't calm down her husband in his anger.

Ulrich returned home the day after Christmas, three days earlier than expected, and he didn't tell anyone that he was back. Odd came back the next day and was shocked to find his roommate there already, but he was even more shocked to see Ulrich's busted lip and black eye.

As he entered the room and saw Ulrich lying in bed, he dropped his bags on his bed, let Kiwi out, and looked at Ulrich worriedly. "What happened to you?" he asked.

Ulrich avoided his eyes and looked at the ceiling. "I got in a little disagreement with my father," he said, sounding a bit ashamed.

Odd gaped at him. "Your dad... he hit you? He seriously just hit you?"

"Well I did hit back," Ulrich said. "Can we just not talk about this?"

Odd frowned. "You told him about the baby, didn't you?"

Ulrich sighed and looked at the blond. "I really don't want to talk about it," he said firmly.

"Damn it, Ulrich," Odd said, frustrated. "I really think you need to talk about it. It looks like you took a real beating."

"I'm fine," Ulrich insisted as he sat up, wincing and holding his side as he did so.

Odd walked over to Ulrich's bed and stood with his arms crossed. "Show me your side," he ordered.

Ulrich glared at him. "Odd, I said leave me alone."

Odd stood his ground. "Show me your side," he said again.

"It's not a big deal. I just got knocked into the dresser."

The two stared each other down before Ulrich finally broke and looked away nervously. "Just show me," Odd pleaded.

Ulrich reluctantly lifted up the side of his shirt, revealing bruises along his ribs. Odd just stared in shock. "Oh my god," he muttered.

Ulrich let his shirt fall. "Happy?" he asked angrily.

"No," Odd said. "Please just tell me what happened."

"My mom took it alright," Ulrich said, still avoiding Odd's eyes. "My dad refuses to talk to me now."

"Right," Odd said sarcastically. "He beat you, and you're the one who's being estranged."

"I told you already," Ulrich said. "I hit back."

"Yea," Odd said. "But he's bigger than you. Are you ok? Did you get those bruises checked out at all? Your ribs could be broken."

Ulrich sighed. "Don't worry Odd. I'm fine." He looked up at him sadly. "Apparently I just don't have a dad anymore."

Odd sat down next to him. "No offense, but I don't really think you need a dad who would hit you."

"He's still my dad," Ulrich said softly. "You can't change your family Odd."

"No, I guess you can't," Odd said. "But at least you can start a new one. Speaking of which... Have you seen Yumi since you got back?"

"I didn't want her to see this," Ulrich said.

"Well, she knows you are supposed to be back tomorrow, and I doubt its going to go away by then," Odd told him. "You should see her today."

"We're supposed to come to our decision by the end of break," Ulrich said, changing the subject. "We're supposed to decide whether or not we want to keep the baby."

"What do you want to do?" Odd asked curiously.

"I'm not sure," Ulrich said. "What if I end up turning into my dad? What if I end up setting such high expectations for my kid? I don't want to be like that."

"If you don't want to be, then you won't be," Odd said. "Personally, I think you'd make a great dad Ulrich."

"Why would you think that?" Ulrich said.

Odd smiled. "Because you do a good job of putting up with me, which according to Yumi is like dealing with a child," he joked. "And that has got to count for something. Besides, you and Yumi love each other, so I know that if you do decide to keep the baby you guys will both love it a lot."

"Well of course I love the baby," Ulrich said, "but I don't know if I'm old enough to take care of a baby."

"Well, you guys will have plenty of people around to help," Odd said. "We're all here for you."

* * *

Yumi's morning sickness was particularly bad that day, and she spent most of her time sitting by the toilet with her mother tending to her. By the afternoon, she felt a bit better and went back to sitting on the couch, cuddled up beside her father in her pajamas. Neither of her parents was happy about her pregnancy, but they were being more supportive of her after getting use to it. She actually never would have thought they could be so forgiving of her, but it just proved how much her parents truly did love her. 

The doorbell rang and Mrs. Ishiyama went to get it. Yumi pulled her blanket up closer to herself and listened curiously. She heard her mother gasp Ulrich's name worriedly, and she immediately stood up to see what was going on. "Mom? Is that Ulrich at the door?"

She found her mother fussing over Ulrich for his bruised face and she herself gasped. "Ulrich what happened to you?"

He gave her a half-hearted smile. "I... um... told my parents," he said nervously.

"Ulrich, did your father do this to you?" Mrs. Ishiyama asked in shock.

Ulrich looked hesitant. Yumi grabbed his hand. "Ulrich?"

"Sort of," Ulrich said.

"Oh, you poor dear," Mrs. Ishiyama said sympathetically.

Ulrich looked at her fearfully. "Please don't tell anyone though," he said. "It's never happened before, and it's not going to happen again."

Yumi turned to her mother. "Mom, can you please let me talk to Ulrich alone?"

Mrs. Ishiyama nodded reluctantly, retreating to the kitchen, while Ulrich and Yumi went to Yumi's bedroom. She sat down next to him on her bed, examining his face with concern. "What happened, Ulrich?" she asked.

"I got in a fight with my dad about the baby," Ulrich told her. "And he won't talk to me now."

Yum's eyes welled up with tears and she threw her arms around his neck. "Oh god, Ulrich, I'm so, so sorry."

Ulrich winced and backed away a bit. "Watch the ribs," he said softly. "They're a little bruised."

Yumi kissed his cheek gently where it was bruised and pulled away. "Are you ok?" she asked.

Ulrich nodded. "I came back yesterday," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't come see you… I just needed to be alone and think… Yumi, I don't want to be like my father at all. I don't want to do this to our baby."

"Do you mean that you don't want to keep it?" Yumi asked anxiously.

"Actually," Ulrich said. "I do want to keep it. I want to be a good father to this baby. Of course… that's only if you want to keep it."

"Ulrich I do," she said eagerly. "I've thought about this all break. I just don't think I could get rid of it. I mean… it's ours. Maybe it is bad timing, but we can make it work."

Ulrich smiled at her. "We're going to be parents then," he said, feeling happier than he would've expected.

Yumi nodded. "Yes we are."

* * *

After finding out about what happened with Ulrich's parents, the Ishiyama's were much kinder to Ulrich. They'd both decided that they never wanted to be parents who hurt their child, so they supported her, however disappointed they were in her. Since Mrs. Ishiyama did not work, they planned for her to care for the child during the day while Yumi continued her education. Yumi took an incomplete for the rest of the year during her pregnancy, choosing to start up again in the same grade as the others the next fall. She even took a break from Lyoko as well, but she found herself the easy target of a few Xana attacks which the gang fortunately stopped in time. 

One evening after final exams, the entire gang was hanging out at Yumi's house for a movie night, because she was nine months pregnant and unable to leave the house. Yumi's parents went to watch television in their bedroom to give their daughter and her friends some space. That night, Aelita spent time noticing the way every couple in their group acted. Ulrich had her pulled close to him, with his arm around her waist, and he would every now and then kiss her forehead or lean his head against hers just to be nearer to her. They were the couple with the most to worry about, but they were so content and happy with each other. They were so absolutely in love, and Ulrich was actually quite the romantic. He always surprised Yumi with flowers or candy or presents for the baby.

Aelita knew that she shouldn't compare her own relationship with theirs, but it was hard not to be amazed by the devotion and passion they had for each other. She and Jeremie were very devoted, seeing as he'd spent so much time trying to free her from a virtual world, but there wasn't much passion. They could certainly be cute, holding hands and kissing occasionally, but Jeremie rarely, if ever, tried to just cuddle with her. He never leaned into her just to feel close. He never kissed her forehead or her cheek or her nose, no where but her lips. And he certainly never put his arm around her waist possessively to tell people that she was his.

Odd and Sissi were quite different. They had passion in excess, and not always in a good way. Sometimes it was loving passion, sometimes an angry passion. And sometimes it was even a passionate indifference, however much of an oxymoron it sounded, because they both seemed to be avidly trying to refuse the acknowledgement of the other. Lately, the passion between them was never affectionate. That day Aelita observed that they seemed to be leaning towards the third category. Odd's arm hung stiffly over her shoulder, but neither looked at the other. Neither of them so much as breathed in the other's direction, let alone spoke in it.

Once during the evening, Aelita glanced over to notice that Sissi had vanished. Odd stood up and said that he was going to go get some more pizza from the kitchen. No one else seemed to notice the missing couple, but Aelita was very curious. "Yumi," she said. "Do you mind if I get a glass of water from the kitchen?"

"Go ahead Aelita," Yumi said.

Aelita kissed Jeremie's cheek before getting up and heading to the kitchen. However, she heard Odd and Sissi talking and decided to remain in the doorway and listen.

"You don't have to be such a jerk," Sissi said angrily.

"I'm the jerk?" Odd asked. "That's funny. I thought I was the one who was trying Sissi. I thought I was the one who worked at this relationship. I thought you were the one that tore it apart. Thank you so much for helping me to realize that I was wrong about that."

"Odd…" Sissi said sadly.

"Sissi, no," Odd replied much more calmly. "I'm done trying to fix it. I'm just done. Now can you please just stop trying to change my mind? Let's go back in there."

"I can't keep acting like nothing is wrong though," Sissi pleaded. "Not if there isn't any hope for fixing it."

"I'm sorry," Odd said. "I just don't want to stress them out by making them worry about us. As soon as the baby is born, we can stop pretending."

Aelita peeked in to see Odd putting a slice of pizza onto his plate and Sissi standing beside him drying off tears that had fallen down her face. "Odd," Sissi said. "Are you… Are you sure that it's over? I do love you Odd."

"You have a lousy way of showing it," Odd replied softly.

Aelita was about to walk in, pretending to just be getting her water, but she heard a shout from the living room. "Ulrich, my water just broke!"

Early the next morning, on June 11, 2006, Isobel Noelle Stern was born. The Ishiyama's loved her, and Hiroki was especially excited to be an uncle. The Sterns, more particularly Ulrich's father, refused to see the baby, but Ulrich still sent them a picture by mail. 

Unfortunately, they never did get to reconcile their relationship with their son or meet their granddaughter. Two weeks after the baby's birth, Ulrich was staying at the Ishiyama's house for the summer when he got a visit from his mom's sister, Helen. She told him that there'd been a car accident back in Germany and that his parents hadn't made it.

At first, he acted as if nothing had changed, telling anyone whenever they asked that he couldn't miss people who were never around. Odd, Yumi, and Isobel, or Izzy as they called her, accompanied Ulrich for the funeral in Germany, where they all stayed in his bedroom at his parents' extremely large house under the watch of his aunt Helen. Yumi and Odd were actually quite shocked to discover that Ulrich's father had been the wealthy CEO of a communications company, considering that Ulrich had not only neglected to mention it but had also acted nothing like a rich kid. Even after arriving, Ulrich never made it seem like a big deal that he lived in a large house or that his parents drove luxury brand cars or that he'd been pretty much raised by a nanny, whom Yumi actually met at the funeral.

The day of the funeral was when it really began to hit home that Ulrich's parents were gone and he was withdrawn even from Yumi during the services. When he, Yumi, Izzy, Odd, and his aunt went back to the house, Odd and Yumi were left in the living room to play with the baby while Ulrich discussed his legal situation with Helen. An hour or so later, just after Helen had gone out to pick up dinner for all of them, Yumi began to wonder why Ulrich still hadn't joined them in the living room. She looked over at the blanket they'd set on the floor to see that Izzy was sound asleep before turning to Odd. "Do you mind keeping an eye on her while I go check on Ulrich?" she asked softly.

Odd nodded. "Sure. No problem Yumi."

Yumi walked upstairs and looked into Ulrich's bedroom, which he was sharing with Odd while they were there. Yumi and Helen were each staying in guest bedrooms. Upon not finding him in his room, she sighed and called his name worriedly. "Ulrich, where are you?" she asked.

When she looked further down the hall she noticed a door cracked open and realized it was the master bedroom that no one had entered since arriving there. She walked over slowly, noticing the light on in the room, and pushed it open a bit further. "Ulrich?"

She heard a sniffle from inside and decided to enter. The room was very spacious and was decorated elegantly in gold and purple. The king-sized bed was tall, but she saw the top of a brown-haired head on the opposite side of it and walked over to find Ulrich. He sat with his back against the bed, one knee pulled to his chest. His head was tilted down, but Yumi could see the tears on his cheeks. She sat down against the bed as well and stared at the wall in silence.

Ulrich opened his mouth, taking a sharp intake of breath that made Yumi look at him, but he closed it again and said nothing. A few minutes later, he did the same thing, and Yumi looked at him again as he stared straight ahead of him at the wall. "It still smells like her perfume," he said dully.

Yumi watched him in confusion, not quite sure how to respond to him, but he didn't wait for a response. "My dad always worked a lot," he said. "The only time he spent with me usually involved yelling, him telling me that I was disappointing. My mom was always, around though, and she always hugged me and told me that she was proud of me. And she always smelled like that perfume." Ulrich sighed and closed his eyes. "My dad and I got into the fight in this room. We knocked over the bottle of perfume when I was pushed into her dresser and it spilled right here on the floor." He indicated a stain on the carpet that was in front of him. "I'm surprised I can still smell it all of these months later."

Yumi put her hand on Ulrich's knee. "It's ok to be upset Ulrich," she said.

Ulrich just wiped his cheeks with the back of his arm and said nothing to her.

Yumi sighed. She couldn't let him avoid the issue any longer. "Whichever way you look at it, they were still your parents, and I know that you loved them. And I'm sure that they loved you, even if your dad was bad at showing it. And now they're gone. In fact, it's more than ok to be upset. You need to be upset."

He looked up at her with teary eyes. "It's just… screwed up," he whispered as he tried to hold back his tears. "All that's… left of them is… a spilled… bottle of perfume…"

Yumi put her arms around him as he leaned his head on her shoulder and cried. She kissed the top of his head and rubbed his back as she whispered to him soothingly that things would be ok. A bit later, he calmed down, but they continued to sit there in silence. Odd's voice began calling Yumi's name, and as his voice sounded closer, Yumi heard her baby crying. Yumi looked at Ulrich quickly to be sure that she was alright before calling out to Odd. "We're in here Odd!" she said as she stood up.

A few seconds later Odd was standing in the doorway with the baby. "I already checked her diaper," he said. "I think she might be hungry."

Yumi walked over and accepted the baby into her arms. The baby instantly calmed down, and Yumi smiled. "She just wanted her mommy, that's all."

Odd smiled slightly. "I'll leave you guys alone," he said softly.

"Thanks Odd," Yumi said as he left. She shut the door behind him and sat back down next to Ulrich. Izzy stared at her father with the beautiful green eyes she'd inherited from him. "I think she wants you."

Ulrich took the baby and cradled her in his arms. A small smile formed on his tear-stained face as he watched her close her eyes and fall asleep. "I love you two so much Yumi," he whispered as he looked up at his girlfriend.

Yumi smiled and put her head on his shoulder, watching Isobel sleep. "Isn't she beautiful?" she said quietly.

Ulrich sighed contently. "Yea," he said. "Just like her mother."

"Are you feeling better?" Yumi asked him.

She felt his head nod against hers. "Thank you," he said gratefully. "For being here for me."

"We're a family now," Yumi said. "We've got to stand together through everything and take care of each other."

"I am going to take care of you and Izzy," Ulrich said in agreement. "There's something I need to tell you about."

Yumi took her head off of his shoulder and looked at him questioningly. "What is it?"

"Aunt Helen has been talking with my parents' lawyer, because she's now my legal guardian," he said.

Yumi looked fearful. "Are you going to have to live with her?"

Ulrich shook his head. "I'm already 16," he said. "And since I already have a daughter, I can be emancipated. And that's what's going to happen."

"Emancipated?" Yumi repeated. "You won't have a guardian?"

"No," he said. "I'll keep going to Kadic though. It's going to be paid for with some of the money my parents left for me. As for the rest… There is enough money for me to take care of you guys for a long time."

Yumi looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"My father may have been disappointed in me," he said. "But he left me 15 million dollars."

* * *

**Next chapter... Odd and Sissi!**


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